Breaking Point
by Spidershadow5
Summary: If you want something done right, you'd better do it yourself.


Standing out on the edge of his Sanctuary fortress, staring out into the black abyss of space, the Mad Titan sighed with frustration. He'd been observing the events currently occurring on Earth, and the results had once again failed to please him.

Anger and disappointment was becoming a common mood for the Mad Titan. Since his discovery of the Infinity Stones, he immediately knew they were destined to belong to him, and allow him to spread the gospel of death to an uninformed universe. All of his efforts to acquire the artifacts, unfortunately, had ended with failure after failure. The last time he had felt true joy was when his armies had laid siege to his home world, slaughtering everyone he'd known. He recalled the ecstasy that had flowed through his veins as he butchered the woman who had wronged him, bringing him into this disgusting world that saw life as a blessing. That ecstasy had never returned to him.

Loki had shown promise, agreeing to all of the Titan's demands in exchange for control of one insignificant planet. He had even considered allowing the godling to live once his reign of terror had begun. It should have been simple. Earth was nothing more than an underdeveloped rock, not even aware of the beings lurking out in the cosmos. They could never defend themselves from his armies. Of course, the humans had proved to be far more resilient than expected, and Loki's arrogant display of power had only fueled their rage. The Chitauri had failed him for the first time, and Loki had been imprisoned. The Tesseract, the Space Stone, had been reclaimed by the halls of Asgard and that buffoon Odin, and the humans would not be caught off guard by another invasion.

Ronan had been his most irritating servant. His pointless politics, and his foolish war with Xandar only hampered his effectiveness as a warrior, something the Kree could never understand. He could only cling to childish desires for revenge over events millennia in the past, before his birth. The Titan regretted allowing him the services of Nebula, and especially Gamora. Nebula, while a fierce warrior, was filled with irrational rage, and often lost sight of important objectives. While her betrayal bothered him, she was easily replaceable. Gamora was as sharp and focused as her blades, and had learned to control her emotions. Now, she had become an enemy, a wasted asset, because of Ronan's carelessness. The Titan wondered if he might even regret killing her, but quickly dismissed these thoughts.

However, the Mad Titan would have gladly fulfilled his promise to the Accuser, and destroyed Xandar with the Power Stone. After all, death and destruction were the only worthy accomplishments in life, and he would no longer have to deal with the Nova Corps. Ronan had even surpassed his expectations, acquiring the Orb from those bumbling outlaws. Of course, he had grown arrogant, claiming the Stone for himself. As if he had the vision to truly utilize it's power! The Titan had laughed as the outlaws, the "Guardians of the Galaxy," had destroyed him with the power of the Stone. The irony was almost enough to amuse him.

Finally, he had seen the payoff of his sleeper plan. Giving the Mind Stone to Loki had been a risk, but the Titan knew that if the godling failed, the humans would be unable to resist tampering with the scepter. It was their nature to poke and prod the world around them, as well as themselves, like mindless children who failed to comprehend what they saw. He knew that Stone would eventually come to life, bringing with it a powerful destroyer. Even the so-called "Avengers" would never be prepared for such a sudden attack from within.

Ultron seemed perfect for his purpose. Admittedly, the android was held back by believing that the world was capable of being saved, but his goals were perfect. He systematically damaged the Avengers, and was completely focused on destroying all life on Earth, with no desire for pleasure or concepts like revenge. Ultron was everything the Titan would have wanted in a servant, even an involuntary and unaware one. Once his purpose was completely fulfilled, the Titan would have reclaimed the Stone with little trouble.

Of course, the machine had proved to be a much of a failure as his predecessors. He had alienated the twins that could have given him victory against the Avengers, and now the powerful female was one of them. Even worse, the humans had learned how to utilize the Mind Stone, creating a sickening "Vision" to combat Ultron. The android's rage had made him sloppy and predictable, and he had given into his desire for retribution. The team had splintered slightly, but not one single Avenger had fallen in the battle, and Earth could still defend itself. The power of an Infinity Stone was now on their side, making them even more dangerous.

In addition, the so-called Aether, the Reality Stone, had been uncovered. The Titan had intended to claim it during the Convergence event, but thanks to the arrogant Thor, it had been removed from it's hiding place. The Stone was now in the possession of Taneleer Tivan, the Collector, who also had designs to obtain them all. The Elder of the Universe was completely insane, certainly, but he was far more dangerous than most believed. He had seen galaxy-spanning civilizations rise and fall, and survived through all of them. Claiming the Stone from him would be yet another chore. While he had no real desire to use the Stones' power for himself, he would no doubt resort to them if his precious collection was threatened.

Gritting his teeth in anger, the Titan turned from his observation platform, storming inside his headquarters. He wished Ronan had not killed the Other, as now would have been a prime opportunity to vent his rage, slaughtering the disgusting creature himself. As it was, his servants were currently scattered throughout the cosmos, and he was completely alone.

It frustrated him to no end. So many living beings saw life as opportunity, and something to be enjoyed. He knew this to be a lie. Life was cruel and pointless, presenting hollow pleasures to calm everyone into accepting it. He hated the sight of this world, and the fools who bought into their own delusions about it. All who had tried to sway him to love life had been promptly murdered. While many thought of him as a simple conquerer, nothing could be further from the truth. The Titan cared not to rule, or crush opposing rebels beneath the heel of his boot. His only desire was to see the entire universe stained with blood. If his opponents had any sense, they would fall to his knees and thank him for sentencing them to death.

Coming to his vault, the Titan opened a metal safe sitting in the back. A small metal platform rose up out of the darkness, carrying a gleaming, golden gauntlet. Six holes sat on the back, one on each knuckle, and a larger one in the middle. Removing his own glove, he forced his hand through the new one.

"Fine," said Thanos, hate and determination filling his voice, "I guess I'll do it myself."

* * *

 **Well, there you are. I honestly don't think there are enough serious Thanos fics on this site. I tried to work in his relationship with Death (the entity), but I couldn't think of a way to do it subtly.**


End file.
